Â鶹´«Ã½ ranked ‘First Class’ for sustainability Published on: 9 December 2021 Â鶹´«Ã½ has achieved a First Class award in the People and Planet University League. The University has been ranked 21st out of 154 UK universities, maintaining a First Class award since 2012. People and Planet assess UK universities against a range of criteria which measure environmental and ethical performance, including Sustainable Food, Staff and Student Engagement and Education for Sustainable Development. The criteria are judged using information that is publicly available on University webpages. This year, Â鶹´«Ã½ scored highly in Policy and Strategy (100%), Environmental Management Systems (100%), Managing Carbon (80%) and Ethical Investment (78%). With an overall score of 67.2%, this is the University’s highest total to date, although the league position is down from 12th in 2019 to 21st this year. Â鶹´«Ã½ is ranked joint sixth for Ethical Investment and joint 11th for Carbon Management. Professor Julie Sanders, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, said: “We are proud to be amongst the leading universities in this league for our efforts towards environmental sustainability. We are always ambitious to keep improving in all aspects and are committed to working at pace with our students, colleagues and partners to further action throughout our operations, education and research.” is one of the ways that Â鶹´«Ã½ is externally measured on its performance on sustainability and work towards social and environmental justice. Earlier this year, the University was ranked 15th in the world and fifth in Europe in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. The Impact Rankings measure performance against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The University ranked highly for SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, coming second in the world. In November, Â鶹´«Ã½ was also recognised with a Highly Commended award at the UK Green Gown Awards in the ‘2030: Climate Action’ category. This recognition is due to the work on the Climate Action Plan, which outlines the action required to meet the University’s net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 target, and aspirational scope 3 carbon targets. Work to deliver the Climate Action Plan is underway with several ongoing projects, such as the solar PV project and advancing building retrofits. An update on progress against the plan will be published in 2022. Â鶹´«Ã½’s success with sustainability awards and rankings is thanks to a whole-University effort and could not be achieved without the collaboration that happens within our community of students and colleagues. We are continuously working to improve the University’s performance and play our part in responding to social and environmental justice issues with necessary urgency. Latest News Local knowledge can improve early warnings of glacial lake floods Local knowledge, improved evacuation preparedness and resilient mobile phone-based communication channels can enhance Early Warning Systems to reduce loss of life during glacial lake outburst floods. published on: 3 August 2026 Funding boost moves landmark cancer research centre a step closer A £1.25 million grant from the Wolfson Foundation to Â鶹´«Ã½ has brought the Sir Bobby Robson Institute a significant step closer, giving a major boost to its fundraising campaign. published on: 3 August 2026 Statement on potential unauthorised data access Information about a potential unauthorised data access. published on: 30 July 2026 Facts and figures
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